Fire and Water
by PFTones3482
Summary: After BoO. Everyone (including Leo) is back at camp and one night when the son of Hephaestus can't sleep he takes a stroll down to the beach and ends up having a heart to heart with the son of Poseidon. Dude bonding. Because dude bonding is awesome. Not slash. K plus for some swearing. One shot


**Takes place after the Blood of Olympus, but Leo is staying at Camp Half Blood while Calypso goes to Mount Olympus to talk to the gods. Gets a tad emotional. Mentions of dead characters.**

**Dude bonding. Fun times. I love dude bonding. **

**I don't own Percy Jackson. Have a little rant at the end.**

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><p>GENERAL POV<p>

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><p>Leo couldn't sleep.<p>

He wasn't sure if it was because of his usual hyperactivity, the fact that he had just returned a few days ago after leaving Ogygia, or because he hadn't slept on an actual bed in so long that he couldn't get used to the comfort of the mattress under him.

Regardless, the teen knew that he wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, so he slid out of bed and slipped into his jacket, tying his shoes quietly before slipping out the door.

He knew that if the harpies found him, there was a good chance they would kill him. And since they were immune to fire, he didn't have that going for him. Leo didn't particularly care at the moment. He just needed to get out, clear his head.

After pausing a moment, the curly headed son of Hephaestus turned towards the ocean, shoving his hands into his pockets and tilting his head towards the ground as he shuffled along. He wasn't much of an ocean person; that was Percy's thing.

But ever since Calypso had left him at Camp Half-Blood so that she could go sort a few things out with Zeus and get her banishment revoked, he had found himself drifting more and more towards the calming presence of the salt water, if only because it reminded him of his time on her island.

Leo blinked as the grass under his feet changed to sand and he lifted his head, swinging his curly hair out of his face and taking in the view of the ocean, brightly lit under the full moon.

His eyes scanned the horizon and he stumbled a little when they picked out a human figure sitting on the sand, the person unidentifiable in the dark.

Leo almost left, but after a moment of pondering, he shook his head and decided that if the person wanted to be alone, they would tell him. He lit his hand on fire, keeping the flame low as he approached. At the last minute, the figure turned his head towards Leo, an eyebrow raising curiously as he studied the boy in front of him.

The fire from Leo's fingertips grew a bit larger and he blinked at the dark haired, green eyed boy in front of him. His Camp Half-Blood shirt glowed dimly and the teen sat up, his lips curving in a gentle smile.

Leo stammered a bit. "P-Percy. Oh, I'm sorry man. I'll just uh…I'll just go."

Percy held up a hand, his eyes sparking a little. "Leo, it's fine. You can join me. The harpies tend to leave me alone when I'm around the ocean. They know it's my thing."

Leo paused and sank down into the sand lightly, extinguishing the flames in his hand and leaning forward, putting his elbows on his knees and staring out at the ocean, studying Percy from the corner of his eye.

Though he respected the son of Poseidon, Leo wasn't quite sure what to make of him. He was a great guy, but the two had never really sat down and talked before, not counting the time they had almost been killed by Nike.

Now, as Leo studied the teen, his perceptive eyes took in the hunch of Percy's shoulders, the weariness around his eyes and in his eyes, the part of his hair that was just a tad lighter than the rest (Leo wondered what THAT was all about), the way his torso trembled as he perused the horizon.

Leo frowned and turned in the sand, facing Percy full on. The demi-god glanced at him and Leo blinked in surprise to see tears in his eyes. "Whoa, man, are you okay?"

Percy gave a harsh laugh and glanced back towards the water, drawing his knees up to his chin and shaking ever so slightly. "It's nothing. Why'd you come down here?"

The question wasn't harsh or accusatory; merely curious. Leo hesitated, wanting to know what Percy was so upset about. He couldn't recall ever having seen him cry, so the fact that Percy was unabashedly allowing Leo to see him in this weaker state made the boy more willing to relax.

"I just…I couldn't sleep," Leo murmured, picking up a twig and doodling monsters in the sand.

Percy raised his head and brushed a strand of dark brown hair out of his watery eyes. "Nightmares?" he asked in concern.

Leo shook his head, poking at his drawing of a hydra before answering. "No. Just…couldn't get comfortable. Kept thinking."

Percy tilted his head and watched Leo carefully. "About Calypso?"

The fiery boy looked up in surprise. "Yeah. Yeah, Calypso."

He stabbed his hydra angrily and narrowed his eyes. "If the gods don't revoke her banishment, I swear to Hephaestus I will…."

The twig erupted in flames and danced across the sand briefly before a tiny splash of water flew from the ocean and put it out. Leo glanced over at Percy, who was hiding a small smile. He rolled his eyes. "You get what I mean."

Percy laid a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder. "Leo, the gods let her leave the island. I think her curse is already lifted. I'm glad you got her out of there."

The son of the sea god let his hand drop to his lap and he turned his gaze to the ocean, sighing deeply. "I…wasn't able to. I promised her I would and I…gods."

Percy slammed his fist into his knee and the water in front of them exploded into the air, causing Leo to jump. He looked over at Percy in shock, not having expected an outburst from the usually put together teenager.

His fists were clenched tightly in his lap and Leo could see Percy's body trembling violently. "I failed her," he hissed, his voice sounding like waves hitting hot sand. "I failed her, and I failed Luke and Silena and Zoe and Bianca and…and Beckendorf…."

Leo winced at the name of the former Hephaestus cabin leader. "Percy…" he whispered anxiously, reaching a tentative hand out.

Percy shuddered and pressed his palms to his eyes, taking several shaky breaths. Leo pulled back a little, not certain how to handle the breakdown. He fixed machines, not people. But this moment, he knew that if he left Percy might lose it. Annabeth might have been able to help, or Piper. Leo was ill suited for the task. But he was the only one there, and by Hades, Percy had saved his butt so many times that it was the least he could do to stay with him.

Taking a deep breath, Leo scooted over to his friend and awkwardly patted his back. "Percy…I didn't know any of those people. But…I mean, come on. I've seen you fight man. You went to Tartarus for Annabeth, you saved every one of our butts against Chrysaor single handedly, helped rescue Nico from two giants, and man, you fought Kronos. I wasn't even there for that but I bet it was EPIC."

Percy snorted humorlessly and Leo continued, undeterred. "Dude, come on. You're awesome. You're like a hero."

"Says the guys who can burst into flames," Percy muttered, shaking his head with a scowl. "We might not have lost anyone this time, Leo, but I failed so many people in the past. I don't understand why everyone calls me a hero when I'm clearly not."

He turned his head away, but not before Leo caught sight of the tear crawling down the boy's face.

Leo cringed and rubbed his neck, staring up at the stars. "Percy…what happened with Beckendorf? No one ever told me."

Percy shuddered and rubbed his shoulders, staring grimly out to sea. "We went to blow up a ship of monsters…the plan was for me to use my powers to get us out of harm's way. But the monsters caught us and Beckendorf detonated the ship while he was still on it. It was my job to get him off and I didn't."

Leo frowned, his brain working. "And…Luke?"

Percy grimaced, a hard gleam entering his eyes. "Kronos used him. Took over his body and I couldn't stop him. Annabeth was the one who managed to get him to turn back, but it was too late. He killed himself on Mt. Olympus."

Leo didn't even hesitate. "Silena."

Percy glared at the teen before answering. "She was a spy for Kronos. Gave herself up in the end after getting poisoned by a drakon. I didn't know. I put her and everyone else in danger."

Nodding, Leo continued. "Bianca and Zoe."

His eyebrows furrowed, Percy glanced away. "Leo, what the Hades are you trying to do, make me feel worse?"

Leo winced and chewed on his thumbnail, wishing he had on his tool belt so that his hands could be doing something. "Percy…all those people gave themselves up. You couldn't have stopped them. They're part of the reason the earth is still here today. Kronos didn't take over because Luke stopped himself. Beckendorf sacrificed himself to help get rid of the army. Silena came in at the last minute and defeated a major enemy, or at least helped to. I don't know what Zoe and Bianca did, but gods Percy, you can't blame yourself for their death."

"Nico," Percy said softly, not looking up from the sand.

Leo blinked, confused. "Pardon?"

Percy scowled and clenched his fist on his knees, his voice shaky. "Gods, Nico…Nico had a crush on me. And I got his sister killed and completely ignored him and Annabeth and I constantly kissed around him and I'm such a…an _asshole."_

Leo's eyebrows shot up into his hair in surprise. He had never heard Percy swear like that before. Sure, there was the usual "What the Hades, Holy Hera" that all demigods used, but Leo had never heard Percy use street language.

He had known that Nico was gay, of course. Ever since he and Will had gotten together, it wasn't much of a secret. He didn't care one way or the other; it was nice to see the son of Hades smile for once. But he hadn't realized that Percy had been beating himself up over it so much.

Leo tilted his head. "Percy, you can't blame yourself for that. Nico didn't tell anyone. It's his own fault. And when Jason found out, he didn't tell anyone either. And his sister….I don't know what went on with Bianca. But I know that Nico has forgiven you for it."

Leo gave Percy an awkward side hug and stood up quietly. "You need to forgive yourself for all this stuff, bud. You can't save everyone Percy."

Percy stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, sighing deeply. "I wish I could," he whispered, his dark hair sliding into his glistening eyes.

The son of Poseidon shivered. "Athena…she told me a long time ago that my fatal flaw was that I would give up the world to save a friend. And I…I can't always do that and it's the worst."

Leo shrugged lightly. "I know, man. No one ever told me what mine was, but I think I figured it out. I try to fix everything. And I can't always do that. Like with Festus…and the ship. Percy," he said determinedly, his voice making the boy look up. "I've accepted that I can't always repair things. The people you lost, that _we _lost…they gave themselves up, and knowing Hades, they probably are living it up down there. Bianca got reborn, and man, you know that Beckendorf and Silena are probably happy and together."

Percy took a shuddering breath and looked out at his father's domain. "Leo…why don't we talk more?"

Leo blinked, staring at Percy in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Percy gave a small smile. "I always thought you didn't like me, especially after you found out about Calypso. But here you are, trying to cheer me up and I don't…I don't quite understand why you and I never hung out more."

Leo chuckled. "Fire and water don't really mix, man. It just creates steam."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "And steam gives you power and functioning parts."

Leo's jaw almost hit the sand as the profound words spilled from Percy's lips. He had just turned their very friendship into an analogy that Leo was able to process in his machine oriented brain.

Percy smiled thinly, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "What? I can be smart."

He wrapped an arm around Leo's shoulders and gave him a side hug. "Man, you are awesome, you know that?" Percy said. "But I'm pretty cool, too."

Leo snorted and gently pushed Percy away. "Come on, Jackson. You know I'm way cooler than you."

Percy chuckled and tucked his hands into his pockets, turning towards camp. He nodded his head in the direction of the cabins. "We should get back to bed before the harpies show up."

Leo smiled lightly and the two walked in step towards the cabin circle, keeping their eyes peeled for any blood thirsty cleaning ladies.

Percy gave Leo a sidelong glance. "Take care of Calypso, okay? Tell her…tell her I'm sorry I didn't come back."

Leo smiled, blushing slightly. "I will, man. And hey, just remember. You can't save everyone. But the people you did save are pretty freaking awesome. Like me!"

Percy laughed and stopped in front of his cabin door. "Leo, somehow you always manage to save yourself. Trust me. Out of all of the seven of us, I knew I would need to save you the least because you're so capable of taking care of yourself."

Leo chuckled and fake saluted his friend, strolling over towards his cabin. "Well thanks, bro."

"And Leo?" Percy said softly, wincing as the harpies began screeching in the distance.

Leo glanced over in the direction of the angry cleaning chickens, but stayed outside long enough to hear what Percy had to say. "Yes sir?"

Percy smirked and rolled his eyes, though after a second his gaze softened. "Beckendorf would be proud that you're in charge of the cabin now."

The green eyed boy shut his door before Leo could respond to the comment.

Leo slipped silently into Cabin 7, a lump in his throat as he kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed. He pulled the covers up to his chin and smiled, his lip quivering.

Of all the things Percy could have said to compliment him, that was the one that Leo hadn't been expecting.

And it was the one that meant the most.

Fire and water make steam. Steam makes things work.

For once in his life, Leo was certain he would never have to fix his and Percy's friendship again. Because it just worked.

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><p><strong>Not certain about that ending, but I just wanted some Leo and Percy bonding. They were the two who I think had the least amount of development friendship wise in the series, and that bugged me. <strong>

**Also, Blood of Olympus.**

**WHAT?**

**NO! NOT OKAY RICK. NOT. OKAY. You can't leave us hanging on Leo and Calypso, Will and Nico, the Roman kids! It was really fast paced, and I didn't mind so much that it was focused more on Leo and Piper and Jason than Percy and Annabeth. If I'm honest with myself, my favorite characters are Leo, Hazel, and Frank. Percy is still up there, but really, I didn't mind that he wasn't a main focus in the last book. Though I do enjoy reading about him. **

**Is it weird that I think Leo and Frank would make an adorable couple? Just me…**

**Review, please!**


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